Source: DNA at Occupy protest similar to material on victim's CD player

By Deborah Feyerick, CNN

Updated 9:57 AM ET, Thu July 12, 2012

Eight years after Julliard student Sarah Fox was found dead in upper Manhattan, new evidence has emerged in the case.

Story highlights

DNA on a chain at OWS is a "similar profile" to DNA found in the murder of a student, a source says

There is currently no forensic match, the source adds

City authorities are investigating what could be new evidence in the killing of Sarah Fox

Officials remain cautious, saying the find could pose any number of possibilities

DNA found on a chain used by protesters believed to be aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York appears to be a "similar profile" to DNA recovered in the unsolved murder of a Julliard student in 2004, according to a source with knowledge of the case.

There currently is no definitive forensic match between DNA recently found on the chain and DNA on a compact disc player believed to have belonged to Sarah Fox, which was recovered in 2004, the source said.

City authorities say they are investigating what could be new evidence in the killing of Fox, although they remained cautious, saying the find could pose any number of possibilities and is potentially unrelated to her death.

The chain was recovered in Brooklyn and used by demonstrators during a March protest, the source said.

Fox, a third-year drama student at the prestigious performing arts school in Manhattan, was 21 when she went missing.

Her roommate told authorities she was last seen leaving their apartment with her keys and a pink portable CD player.

It is not clear what prompted officials to investigate the chain.

Dana Balicki, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, said authorities had not contacted organizers of the movement about the new find, and that the group was unaware of the investigation.